


Vital Exchange

by NiwaHanake



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: All of the 104th are kids, Bedwetting, Dates, Diseases, Dreams, F/M, Insomnia, M/M, Memories of previous incarnation, Paranoia., Parent!Levi, Parent-Child Relationship, Sex Work, Slow Build, Socially Awkward Erwin, Usage of "Rivaille" as an Alias, child!armin, parenting, protective parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-29 13:48:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7686958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiwaHanake/pseuds/NiwaHanake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[dc]</p><p>Levi is a busy Single Parent, working his ass off to maintain himself and his son, who for the record looks 0% like him, all the while dealing with strange dreams, insomnia and trying to be a good dad on top of that. They don't have much, but it's enough for them to get by. At least, until things start to get bad... and Levi is met with a choice of life and death. </p><p>Note:  this fic is heavily inspired by the canon of Shingeki no Kyojin and will have it's main influence be chapters 83 & 84. Other non-anime (as of (d)05/(m)08/2016) influences will be present as well, but none so very prominently as the major happening in chapters 83 and 84. With this you have been warned and I wish you a very nice reading experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Usual

**Author's Note:**

  * For [floralys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/floralys/gifts).



Panic, haste, and urgency struck him as he stared out before him. Yelling from all sides and two choices… Two men lying on either side of him, breathing barely. His own feeling was urged to the man bleeding out, a trust, a want, a need of sorts. While the opposing side had urgent support yelling for his help. This was his choice. One only he could make. One he should not regret. One he could not afford to regret. He wanted to choose the elder over the younger, so why didn’t he? Why was the one to steady his breathing the younger?!

With hazy memory of what had just played out for the umpteenth time, Levi cracked open his eyes. Drenched in sweat and with a bursting headache. He was in bed. At home. Like always. The indent of his usual sleeping position keeping him in place on the mattress, which he should really either flip or sleep on the other side of sometime… He cracked his head to one side, the one with his phone and radio-alarm clock on a cheap, improvised night stand. 3.24 AM. So he’d managed to actually get some shut-eye this time.  The raven haired knew thanks to rapid repetition that trying to turn around in his bed and sleep was futile so he’d rather just use the time to do something useful. He felt disgusting in all the sweat so first of all a shower was in place.

 The 30 year old went from his bedroom through the living room and into the bathroom and from there straight into the shower cabin. Which is where he noticed he was actually still wearing his underwear. He promptly removed the article of clothing and dumped it in the laundry basket around the corner, which reminded him he hadn’t taken out the last batch of dried clothes, he’d iron those in a bit then. First of all, shower. After the hot refreshing shower and a sufficient change of clothes, right now that was underwear and yoga pants. he took out the ironing board and iron, the dried clothes dumped in a basket and his phone with headphones. He should probably turn on more light if he was going to iron, it would suck if he burnt his hands trying to do it in the dark, plus completely unnecessary. He had a small light in the corner on, right outside of the other bedroom, whose door was slightly open… Just like he’d left it, but that wasn’t nearly enough to iron everything.

The washing wasn’t going to go anywhere for now, and he decided to check up on the person sleeping in the other bedroom. The room was illuminated by faint moonlight and city lights seeping in through the light-coloured curtains. Sky blue ones… Ones he kind of hated for their silly design; when the sun shone through them it looked as if the room was underwater, and it had patches of sea animals on them, so you’d see those shadows…  For the record if he was a kid he’d dig it too so he couldn’t really blame the person sleeping here. Plus his face when he saw them was something he wasn’t able to defy.

Armin… little Armin… The father snuck up on his son and knelt at his bed, a book open on the boy’s stomach and a flashlight on the ground, likely fallen from the bed. “You’ll ruin your sleep pattern like me.” He huffed in a whisper as he took the flashlight and carefully put it on the nightstand. Then the challenge of the night begun, which was to grab the book from his son’s hands without waking him. For the record Armin was a deep sleeper, but he was also a strong gripper when he wanted to be. Tug. Tug back. Tug, tug back. Tug, grip-lock. Levi could take a hint, he wasn’t going to win tonight, so instead he took that loss and kissed his son’s forehead,  and tucked the boy in.

Armin was the result of a bad relationship he had some years back. No, wait. He worded that wrong. Armin… was the unplanned baby that had resulted from the one time he and a girlfriend of his had unprotected sex, he wasn’t unwanted, she was. He had always been quite paranoid of using protection, and the one night they didn’t he actually got her pregnant.  Either way their relationship ended on very bad terms and she felt the need to sue him to get him to take care of the baby. It was that or the kid would be placed for adoption. Somehow he felt that was wrong and thus took full custody of the child. He was five years old now, Armin. For five years had they been living together in a single-parent relationship. They got by, the two of them, and the occasional visit of ‘Auntie Isabel and Uncle Farlan… and of course Grannie Kuchel’ made things brighter too …but boy had it made going out harder. Not only did he have to take care of his child, a lot of people were turned off by children apparently. Levi didn’t want to give up on the prospect of possibly finding a nice woman to love, but the way things were going right now Isabel, had more of a chance to find a husband or wife than him, a depressing yet laughable thought, one he shoved away.

Either way he found himself keeping the door ever so slightly open again after returning to the living room.  Now actually putting on his headphones and turning on the music on his phone. Something light to keep his mind busy as he let the iron warm up and began categorizing clothes between his own and his son’s. Armin’s came first, so he could store those away in his closet while he was still in a deep sleep…

Ironing their clothes only took about an hour and a half, and that was with a quick pee-break in between. So now it was around 5 , 5.15-ish. Perhaps a time to check if any plants needed watering and what needed to be cleaned… perhaps make a grocery list while he was at it. 6 rolled by and the house was immaculate… He felt some tiredness in his eyes now, but a nap would likely result in Armin being late for school, something he couldn’t allow to happen. The kid needed a good role model, after all.

At 6.40 he decided to start breakfast and Armin’s lunch. One of the plusses of being an insomniac father was that you could send your son off with a homemade meal every day, ensuring he was eating well. 7 was the time he woke his son up, kissing him and helping him out in the shower, mostly with drying off. After that was done, Armin began dressing himself neatly and Levi put on the channel which broadcast morning news and ensured his son’s backpack was good to go. They had breakfast together at their table, while the news was broadcast in the background.

“Did you sleep well?” Levi asked, unexpectedly hoarse and rough, quickly resolved with a sip of Earl grey with milk and honey. “Let me try that again, did you sleep well?” He asked, Armin showing a smile and nodding.

“Yeah I slept well.” The child said in between sips of milk and bites of toasted bread spread with raspberry jam.

“I saw you were reading late again. It’s good to learn but when it’s bedtime you should sleep okay?” He calmly reprimanded.

Armin looked at the man as if he did something with the severity of taking cookies from the jar and lying about it.

“I’m not mad at you okay? Staying up late will have bad effects on you, you can get sick more easily.”

As if on cue, a sneeze emitted from the five year-old.

After a told-you-so face from Levi the father got up and put his own breakfast plate and cup in the sink. “I’ll have to work the afternoon today so I’ll only pick you up from Eren and Mr. Jaeger’s okay?” He said and after getting an understanding nod from Armin scooped the kid up to tickle him and give him a good amount of hugs for the day. If they had more time he’d attack him with belly farts. “Be good, and if you don’t feel good tell Grisha immediately.” He requested of the boy and had him brush his teeth with him before loading him on his bike and cycling him to the Kindergarten nearby.

‘nearby’ It wasn’t really a walking distance, but it was the best they could manage. He dropped his son off and saw the couple of parents he recognised to be Carla and Grisha Jaeger. He explained his work schedule to him just to be sure and thanked them again for taking such good care of his son.

The little Jaeger kid, Eren, greeted him fiercely. Somehow he’d taken a liking to him even though Levi’s presence was very often non-existent.  The child in their foster care, Mikasa lagged behind Eren and looked up at him as well. They wished each other a good morning and a good bye and with that Levi was on his way; taking care of groceries for the second half of the week.

A refill on Milk, they still had bread in the freezer. They did need a refill on toothpaste and conditioner… Rather than remembering everything he thankfully consulted his grocery list multiple times during his visit in the cheapest supermarket in their area. Thanks to some coupons he cut out because he was bored one night they actually had a nice Friday-night dinner, hell yeah 2.50$ off frozen pizza, if he just put some vegetables on it would actually make for a decent meal.

After walking around for some more good deals or something of the sort he decided to go and check out. Because the place was so low-end there was no self-checkout and of course there were only two cashiers working when there were five registers.  He hadn’t worked at a register in years but even he could check out quicker than them combined. The line crept forward slower than a snail. But, thankfully, Levi had headphones. And some good music to listen to while leaning onto his cart with the darkest, most grim expression ever.

_Non, rien de rien_

_Non, je ne regrette rien_

_Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait_

_Ni le mal; tout ça m'est bien égal !_

_Non, rien de rien_

_Non, je ne regrette rien_

_C'est payé, balayé, oublié_

_Je me fous du passé !_

Oh Edith, she truly had her shit sorted out… Really Levi felt the same for the most part… just some debts to be paid off but he’d get there. He was working two jobs for a reason. He’d make sure Armin had a prosperous future. He’d make sure Armin wouldn’t have to deal with anything like he or his mother had to.

Finally, the checkout line moved enough for him to actually be able to check out and when he did he was back at his bike with a couple bags of groceries. One of which he could strap into the child seat on the back of his bike, the other he just dumped on his steering wheel. He had put everything in it’s place when a phone alarm went off. Time to put on his cleaning uniform and be a janitor… Not the most desirable job, but one he did well. And something he preferred to retail… something he much preferred to retail…

Either way, daily routine was daily routine and he followed it without any form of problems. His shift ended at 4 PM sharp, but he’d have another shift at another job at 9 PM so the day wasn’t over yet. Since the Jaeger’s place was on the way home from job A he decided to pick up Armin already. He arrived at 4.15, the kids opening the door for a change.

“You shouldn’t just be opening the door without knowing who it is. What if it’s a bad man?” He raised a brow at the trio of kids looking up at him, a facial expression he only found himself showing to kids on his face: a smile.

“If it’s a bad man I’ll kick his a—“ Eren yelled out

“Butt.” Levi corrected before he could complete that. “And I doubt it, brat.” He said as he grabbed Eren and lifted him up with no problem. Carried him inside as he entered. Carla emerging from the kitchen into the living room.

“Oh, Levi. I’m sorry I didn’t even hear the doorbell ring.” She apologised with her motherly smile, wiping her hands on her apron, she was making something special for dinner, most likely, seeing as she was already preparing.

“That’s alright, Carla. “ He decided to put the struggling Eren down for now. “I just came to pick Armin up.” He said, not wanting to intrude on anything the Jaeger family had planned.

“Oh no, Levi it’s fine, stay a little while. We’ve got room for two more plates at the table.” Her friendliness not faltering for a second.

Usually, Levi would refuse. Simply out of principle. However, Armin might like having dinner with his friends for a change. “Would you like that, Armin? Do you want to stay for dinner?” He asked, the child actually considering his options before answering.

“I want to stay.” He decided.

“Well that’s settled then. Go on and play for a little longer, I’ll call you when dinner is ready. Levi, a cup of tea?” Carla smiled and the kids ran off into what presumably was Eren’s room.

“Thank you Carla, but no thank you… let me help you though.” His tone polite as he followed Carla into the kitchen.

Their place was significantly more modern than his… They had a dishwasher, for one. The overall luxury of the place seemed a lot higher as well… perhaps that was just the kitchen though, as he knew the Jaeger couple enjoyed DIY from time to time. They weren’t the youngest couple, a little older than himself. Perhaps that was what made them so trustworthy.

“If you want to help out then, how about you skin and dice the potatoes?” She requested, putting the utensils on the counter for him, the potatoes visible already.

Levi usually didn’t skin his potatoes, but he could catch a glimpse of what Carla was going to do with dinner, so he complied. In this situation, skinned potatoes were nicer, he agreed.  The two of them worked in silence for a little while, that was, until Carla broke the silence.

“How is work?” A simple question. Smalltalk.

Somehow he could always speak to Carla easily, so small-talk (or advice-seeking) wasn’t much of a problem to him. It was talking to his own mother, but more motherly. Kuchel was a bit rough around the edges on occasion.

“It’s going… I’ve got a few Sunday shifts so next month won’t become a problem.” If things were good financially he could maybe put something extra in his emergency savings and pay off some more debt. Thanks to that woman and her attorney he’d gotten quite the debt… Court was expensive. Really, really expensive.

“Don’t overwork yourself, If you ever need a break you and Armin are always welcome here.” She told him for the umpteenth time.

“I know… I know.”

“Really, if you ever need some alone time too, I may or may not have noticed you have a dating profile.”

“Oh get out.” He huffed with a smirk on his face.

“A man has his needs, no?”

“Oh my god, Carla.”

“I’m not wrong?”

“I am not listening.”

“So I am right.”

“This is why my son doesn’t have a mother; they can’t outmother them.”

“Ooh, so serious.”

 

Their silly banter went on for a little longer and Levi did finally go for that cup of tea, together with Carla. Dinner just needed to stay put in the oven until it was all done now… It was around 5 when the door was getting fumbled with and the two adults had gotten the kids into the living room for some children’s show Levi didn’t bother remembering the name of.

Grisha was the one to come home last. “Afternoon, Levi.” He greeted again, but this time significantly more tired. He sat down and as the routine demanded, Carla got up to make Grisha his usual cup of tea, and get the kids a juice box.

Surprisingly Carla also brought another cup of tea for Levi. Much appreciated, of course. “Thank you.” He said as she sat the tray with plenty drinks on it down. It was kind of nice, sitting in a iving room with people he kind of considered to be friends, at least circumstantial friends. They had welcomed him into their home and that already meant a lot to him.

Dinner was something surprisingly lively and he hadn’t witnessed something like that in a long time. In many ways, his friend Isabel, whom he considered a sister, shared a lot of traits with Eren. Even if the two had never met. Armin was almost like a little Farlan, a little more soft-spoken… but they definitely shared a mind. Mikasa had some of his own traits of when he was a child too. Barely talking, but good at what they did. Quick, and precise.  The warmth of the family dinner was nearly overwhelming, and it stuck with him for a while. Even when parting ways and going home, letting Armin read some and reading some to him before bed… That ember still flickered inside of him. Funny how that could happen sometimes. Something so normal could be something so unusual…

Either way right now wasn’t the time for any of that, because he should really jump on his bike and work his second shift tonight. Just in case Armin woke up he wrote him a note that he should be calm and keep the door locked. He’d come home in a few hours. If there was anything at all, he could call him on his phone. With the phone number on the bottom.  No “love, dad” Because who else was going to write him those notes? Armin was a smart enough boy to figure out his father was out. Either way the chance of him actually waking up were very slim. Armin was a kid who slept through his nights in one go most of the time….

 He always felt a little bit paranoid when going out to work at night. That’s why he kept the windows locked, as well as the door. Had emergency numbers on the fridge and always left notes for Armin telling him exact times and always instructing him very clearly.  There was no need to feel paranoid; he lived in a good neighbourhood, or at least good enough. He had gone through emergency plans with Armin many times. Armin knew how to dial Levi’s phone or 911, should something really bad happen.  Still… the uneasiness wouldn’t go away. With a sigh he decided one of his many excuses was the cause. He grew up in a bad neighbourhood. He himself had seen burglars in his home before… It was just childhood trauma that resulted in paranoia now.

Everything was going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record I do not know Dollar prices for groceries. If you had 2.50 off for pizza at Lidl you’d pretty much have it for free , but since it’s dollars I’m imagining it costs more than like 2 bucks for pizza. 
> 
> I have never felt so Dutch writing fanfic. 
> 
> Perhaps it’s the bike. It’s probably the bike … but cars are expensive, gas is expensive and the tax on those mother----ers is insane sometimes. Bikes aren’t that expensive and you can still get a decent 25km/h (15.5 mph) in if you don’t have wind against. And going downhill I can hit 30 kmh (18mph)  
> Did I mention I’m pretty overweight and have no stamina when it comes to anything but cycling?
> 
> The dutch is verii stronk.
> 
> Also I imagine this does take place in like.. America or something like that… Or a mix of European towns and American towns. (*Shruggie*) Either way Levi has French in his genes, Mikasa is half Asian, I can’t help but imagine Grisha be of Israeli descent (Even tho he pale af in canon) so Eren is a tad darker than generic ‘white boi’
> 
> I am also so proud of myself, I usually have my chapters be 1500-2300 words long but this thing is over 3000~! I love people who can write long chapters and have them still be good, so I hope I love up to them.


	2. The Unusual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some extraorinary things happen. But Levi deals with it. Because he's been brought up that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm happy with how well this was received and I'm sorry for not really updating much. I had so much stuff to deal with, like cons 'n shit.  
> I think I'll try to update once a month or so. ^^

Levi woke up thanks to the first rays of sunlight hitting the window and in succession to that, his eyes. He was in bed, not on the couch where he often napped or attempted to. He looked at the clock. 5.45 AM… he sat up and looked at the clock again. Then at his phone’s clock. 5.45. So it was… He had actually slept the night through in one go. That… was new. Really, really new. He also felt pretty refreshed. So this was what a good-night’s sleep was like. He stood up and made his bed, changed into some good clothes and made some early morning tea.

While making a brew a rather… strange smell protruded his nostrils. One familiar but, he hadn’t smelt it in ages. What was it, and more importantly, where was it coming from? Not the kitchen itself… not his room. Not the bathroom either, Armin’s room? He immediately identified the smell then. He went into his room and slid a hand under the covers of Armin’s bed. Yep. He wet the bed. He shook Armin awake very gently.

“I know it’s early little man, but I think it’s time to take a shower.” He said in a soft voice.

The little boy stirred a little and realised that he was lying in his own pee, therefore agreeing with his father and strolled into the bathroom. Levi sighed a little as he took off the wet covers and put them in the washer immediately, same for Armin’s pajamas. Levi checked the weather forecast for any rain, and after confirming there wouldn’t be any until way later today, hung the comforter out the window (it was one of those cursed things that would fall apart and/or kill the washing machine if put in there) and checked how far through the pee had gone and decided it wasn’t necessary for the mattress to be put upright in order to dry better…. He knew baking soda worked like a charm, but really he barely ever used the stuff in any other situations so he didn’t really have it.

Armin came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around him, Levi helped him dry off and looked at the boy, visually upset.

“I’m sorry I wet the bed.”

“It’s okay, Armin. These things just happen sometimes. You’ll grow out of it.”

“That’s what you said the last time I wet the bed.”  
“And when was that?”

“…. One and a half years ago.”

The father ruffled the kid’s head. “Exactly. That means it happens less frequently over time, right?”

The kid nodded.

“Do you want to take a nap? It’s barely 6.”

The child yawned and nodded.

“I’ll make sure the couch is comfy, you can get another pair of pajamas by yourself, right?” He made sure and got a fleece blanket and some of Armin’s dry pillows for him to be comfy with.

The child lied down on the couch and Levi made sure the blanket covered him up snugly.

“I’ll wake you up when it’s time for breakfast.” He promised, and the sleepy child was already back off to dreamland. Levi decided it was time to prepare lunch for Armin and slowly began on breakfast. He should make sure Armin didn’t feel bad about himself or felt down. Therefore he decided it was time for a bit of a fancy breakfast. He got a stool and opened the high-up kitchen cabinet with sinful weekend-only sweets as well as actual brand Cereals.

Rules were to be enforced. Except when they shouldn’t be. After all there was always an exception to the rule. This was one of those exceptions. He set up the table with utmost care and woke Armin up after a good amount of time to catch up on sleep.

The child’s face lit up when he saw the breakfast table. French toast, Marshmallow fluff, hot cocoa with whipped cream, his morning was absolutely made. He happily began eating the sweetness overload and couldn’t get a smile off his face.

“By the way I put something special in your lunch today, no peeking though.” Levi said and finished up breakfast first, slowly cleaning up the table while Armin was still chugging his cocoa.

“Thank you. By the way dad, where did you put my P.E. bag?” The kid asked.

“Isn’t it on the coat rack in your room?” He asked as he began the washing up.

Armin finished his cocoa, put it on the pile of to-be-washed dishes and checked.

“Nuh-uh.”

Strange. Levi frowned and stopped washing up. He rarely misplaced things… So why did he now? Was it because he usually triple checked at night? Sheesh, the one night he actually slept it had serious consequences.

In the following minutes Levi raced around the house to compose a new bag that was still within the dress code of the boys P.E. clothes. Not that they were strict, but they still had silly rules like ‘no black soles’ or ‘no full sleeve or no sleeve T-shirts.’

“Here, I’ll be sure to find your usual sports bag today, but this should keep you settled for now.” Levi said, a little out of breath from rushing around the house to grab and look for everything. Either way they were still out the door on a decent time and Levi cycled him out to the school.

The missing sports bag was indeed found, but only once he’d given up the search. After ten internal facepalms with a chair he got over his blindness and put the bag back in its usual place after checking if its contents were clean. A mild annoyance and minor inconvenience, but it had been resolved and that was that. Simple. Levi filled whatever extra time he had in triple checking the finances and doing some couponing, because if one could save money, then why refuse themselves that advantage?

After scrolling around a little on some social media and did some quick matches on OkCupid, He somehow found the questionnaire aspect of that site to be something he could trust a little more than simply going by looks or reading shady profiles on other sites. Then again he hadn’t tried that many, but this worked for him and that was good.

After turning away some messages of questionable origins, he saw that he still had a bit of time to spare before work would roll around. Since the house was clean and they didn’t have enough laundry to fill a whole other washing machine, he simply brought in Armin’s comforter, it having aired sufficiently, put the boy’s pajamas and sheets in the dryer and checked on the mattress another time. Time to make that comforter smell good again… He whipped out the cleaning products and worked his impromptu magic on the child’s fluffy blanket to make it acceptable once again.

Just to be safe, Levi hung the comforter out to air on Armin’s door for a while. He didn’t trust the neighbourhood with the windows open, but Armin’s bedroom door had no reason to be closed so on to the door it went. Then, his phone went off. Not a caller ringtone, just an alarm to make sure he would make it to work on time.

And make it on time he did, just like any day. He did his work and some hours later he went to pick Armin up from the Jaegers’. Armin had a letter in his bag when he came home. “My teacher wants to talk to you.” He said and Levi looked at the form. Parent-teacher conferences huh? He’d have to check his shifts and see if he could maybe switch a weekday with his normally free day. He put the letter on the fridge so he wouldn’t forget to fill it in and went on to dinner.

It was an uneventful dinner. Armin told Levi about the stupid stuff Eren did and how Armin managed to break up a fight between his friend and another boy in the class called Jean. Something about new video games and not being allowed to play quite yet and having finished a huge castle of legos at Eren’s place today. Levi should try to see it next time then, before they’d have to break it down or take blocks for another project.

After dinner he felt like playing a game with Armin and he was in for that as well, so he broke out the good ol’ PS2 he got second hand and grabbed some of the games he had for it. Some of them single player and some multi. The controller and Memory cards were in neat little holders in the cabinet under the TV. “Why don’t you choose a game while I hook up the Playstation?” He said and Armin filed through the boxes of games. “This one.” He said and held up a box. Sly Cooper: Band of Thieves. Oh right… they’d finished the first game last time. Armin was surprisingly good at stealth games, Once he was a little bit older he should try to break out the more serious games, like Metal gear.. He had a few of the instalments in the series, but no way was he going to let Armin play at the age he was right now.

Armin needed some time to get the hang of the controls again, but the tutorial level was over fairly quickly. “Why did they change Carmelita’s voice?” he asked and Levi shrugged. “maybe she couldn’t reprise her role.”

“But the American accent doesn’t suit her one bit.”

“Well, let’s hope the right voice is back in the sequel.”

Armin took that, and calmly played through the first world, listening to the characters and getting into the story. Being smart and taking the high route over the low route before the game reminded him to. All in all he only took a little over an hour, no game overs and a surprising amount of secrets found already. Some of which Levi barely noticed. Armin had some really good ears. The kid saved right before the final mission and got to the boss fight, Handing over the controller to his father to have him deal with that.

The first world was now complete and Levi decided that after the cutscenes to call it a day, after all he had a job to do and a child to put to bed.

The daily paranoia set in and he worked hard, but just before his shift ended he was called into office. He sat down and questioned why he was here….

Long story short, he was getting fired. They were going to pay him the rest of the month and then let him go. Which, really felt kind of abrupt. He’d been on time every shift, occasionally staying late and never failing to deliver consistent quality. He didn’t get much of an explanation, just fluffy standard arguments and with that he was sent on home…. Well then, time for job hunting…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a bit of a short one this time. but I hope you liked it. ^^  
> Feel free to comment and talk to me because I really like doing that.


	3. Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teachers try to smart, The Levimin duo is smarter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that wasn't a long time wait. I'm sorry.  
> I said I'd try to update once a month and you had to wait a little longer.  
> Anyway, I hope you're still interested in the plot. As it is thickening.
> 
> Enjoy.

Levi found himself filling up the bathtub with hot water when he came home after checking Armin was asleep. Today had not been a good day, getting fired… and for no proper reason on top of that. He threw in a cheap bath bomb he once got as a jokey gift from Isabel for Valentines and opened the ‘weekend stuff’ cupboard in the kitchen.

After receiving aid from a chair, he had grabbed a small ash tray and a carton of cigarettes. He deserved one. He didn’t make it a habit to smoke, much less in the house, but god could he use one right now… He grabbed his headphones and phone and put on the best music he could bear to listen to block out any possibly intrusive thoughts. He lit the cigarette on the gas stove in the kitchen briefly as he did not feel like looking for a lighter and took his stuff to the bathroom. Where he set himself up in the bath. Enjoying his cigarette, blocking off from the outside world, and doing his best to relax.

These god damn people bullshitting him all the time was what was pissing him off to no end. How hard was it to give a reason as to why they let him go? And without proper prior notice? And due to his other job he wasn’t going to be eligible for anything like unemployment benefits… so that meant better getting a job soon again.

Either way, not right now.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Tomorrow was a day off… all the way until Monday, huh?

\--save for that parent-teacher conference, he believed.

 

It felt foreign, having so much time off work… then again the majority of it would most likely be spent job hunting—but still. It wasn’t work that paid. It was work for work that paid.

 

Several hours in bath passed before he got cold and decided to try and catch some sleep. Unsurprisingly he only caught about an hour or two before his usual insomnia set in.

He figured that now was as good a time as ever to fill in that parent-teacher conference form. He just agreed with the time the teacher had suggested and noted down ‘anytime between Wed- and Friday’s fine.’ He put the letter in Armin’s bag and felt a little restless. Cleaning wasn’t necessary right now, if anything it’d harm rather than clean… there weren’t enough clothes in their hampers to put on another washing machine….

It was way too early to cook.

Nobody was awake right now, at least none of his friends.

Perhaps there was something to do on his laptop or something….

Three rounds of watching random videos on YouTube as well as check his dating profile again and filling in questionnaire answers until he was sick of it, passed. When he checked, that equalled to barely over an hour. He didn’t feel like playing any games either…. God he hated being so restless.

He looked at some Quickmatch options and sighed. This wasn’t working out, He just blankly stared at the page while thinking of something—anything to do.

The one thought that actually filled his mind was one that wasn’t very appealing to him. He could.. jack off? He could, there was definitely the option, and since there was nothing better to do especially at this time of night why not, right?

Fuck it.

His headphones and laptop made its way into his bedroom (Should he need some porn) and he situated himself on the bed, Headphones on, Good music running. Bedroom door was locked. The boxer shorts he put on after the bath were gotten rid of once more and since he didn’t feel like looking for porn, since the stuff really wasn’t arousing at all, he closed his eyes and tried fantasizing something.

His imagination was very much lacking.

The first thing he had imagined was one of his exes. Needless to say he’d opened his eyes and felt a bit…. Disgusted. After mentally shrugging off the chill down his spine he decided the following:

Tonight was not a night to jack off to….

Sending job applications at whatever ungodly hour he was living wasn’t a good idea, but looking for some ones to apply to wasn’t, he supposed. He could also edit his CV a little while he was at it…

The pants came back on.

 

Staying at home was the most boring thing he’d ever done. Especially after the morning rolled around and Armin was off to school. Job applications had been sent out after being prepared and triple checked. He had his phone on the charger for a little bit, since it could use a bit of extra juice. He figured he could like… go for a walk or something, do something relatively interesting until it was time to pick Armin up.

He could try to go to the library and print out some more CV’s, see if he could apply anywhere on the spot…

Best to just try, 80-90% of all applications were terminated for various shitty reasons anyway.

It wasn’t a particularly leisurely stroll, but a brisk walk through the city while keeping an eye open for anything that looked like a job offer. Well, apart from job offers in cafes. He wasn’t sociable enough nor did he have a friendly face. It did have the ability to shut up screaming or crying children when pissed off though, but they likely just froze in fear and delayed an even louder explosion of obnoxious childish behaviour.

He truly was ever so grateful that Armin wasn’t anything like that.

What he did spot today was a common trend of mothers with their children. Perhaps it was just something his eyes filtered out, or perhaps it was really just an insane percentage of mothers with children out today. The really young kind, babies and toddlers, y’know, the kind that didn’t have to go to school yet.

He actually was successful in dropping some applications, though he knew that they would likely end up in the shredder, he felt some form of fulfilment. At least 20 applications today, he stopped actively counting at 15 but he knew that he sent in another 5 after that at least. If he could pull that off tomorrow too, he’d have a second job again in no time.

That being said, his phone rung and Levi presumed that perhaps someone was desperate.   
When he looked at the caller-ID though… it was Armin’s school… Did something happen?

He didn’t forget to pack lunch right? No, he did that when the sun came up. Did he get hurt playing? Did he get an upset stomach? Did he get sick and throw up? Rather than leaving himself to imagine what horrors awaited him on the other end of that phone call, he picked up.

“Mr. Ackerman? This is Susan, an assistant teacher, I’m calling because your son Armin has had a little accident.”

_Accident? What kind of accident?  
_ “Oh really? Should I come pick him up, what happened?”

“Oh it’s nothing super serious, but he’s wet himself, so a change of clothes would be great.”

_Wet himself?_

Levi was starting to see a pattern here. Why did Armin start wetting himself again? Was he okay? Was there something going on he didn’t see? Either way he was already on his way home.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a few. Thank you for calling.” And with that he hung up his phone.

He practically raced back home and got to the school in record time, the kids outside playing during recess were obviously interested by the unfamiliar face, but he promptly ignored them and got to Armin, who was in the faculty bathroom. His homeroom teacher standing there as well, likely standing guard so nobody would walk in on the poor boy.

“Mr.Ackerman, it’s good to see you. It’s been quite a while hasn’t it?”

The parent wasn’t really feeling up for any smalltalk, so he grunted some hmm-hm in a reply while trying to slip past her.

“Look, love to chat but my son is highly uncomfortable in either soiled clothes and ammonia irritating his skin or pantsless, so let’s take care of that first.” He smiled wryly as he did his best to keep his tone friendly. Though his attempt ended in passive-agressiveness, which to him was fair enough.

He got to Armin who was visually upset. The father of the child immediately attended to him. Cleaning the poor boy and taking those filthy pants off him without any questioning.

“You okay?” The father asked as he finished up wrapping the dirty clothes in a plastic bag.

The child remained silent.

“Did the other kids do something.”

The child remained silent.

“Wanna go home?”

Armin blinked a couple times and nodded. Seemingly holding back tears. Levi took his son by the hand and walked out of the bathroom with him.

“Armin’s a little too upset to go back to class so I’ll be taking him home. I hope that doesn’t pose a problem?” He said as he looked at the teacher with a stone expression.

“That should be fine, but Mr.Ackerman, there’s been something I’d been wanting to talk to you about…”

Levi glanced at the clock, recess was almost over so it couldn’t take _too_ long now could it?   
“Alright, what is it?” He asked, expression unchanged.

“Well.. we’ve noticed that you work A lot, more often than not is it that the boy goes home with Mrs. Jaeger and her children… We’re worried on how much you may be absent in Armin’s upbringing, we are aware that you’re a single parent... “

Silence was Levi’s reply.

“Have you considered a daycare?”

Levi scoffed. “Oh yes because that doesn’t cost thousands of dollars a year, obviously better than entrusting my son with his best friends’ parents.” He said and Armin began looking at them a little concerned.

“Look, Ma’am, this isn’t a conversation to be had in front of my son. What is your point now, really?”

“Well… We’re worried the boy misses a part of his upbringing, his mother is absent in his upbringing after all.”

“You can’t be serious.”

She was, but Levi was more than done with her. He picked Armin up and walked out of the school building with long, quick strides. When he got out he put Armin down again, immediately greeted by Eren and Mikasa.

“And?! Did you tell on him? Is he in trouble?” Eren burst out a couple questions at Armin.

“Who was he supposed to tell on, then?” Levi asked calmly.

“A guy a couple grades above us bullied Armin and that’s when he couldn’t get to the toilet on time.”

Oh… **Oh. _Really_ now.**

“Can you point him out to me?”

Eren looked around and pointed out a big, fat kid. “That’s him. I just know his last name…. Reefs I think it was.”

“Reeves” Mikasa corrected.

“Thanks, kids. Armin, let’s go home…” He said softly and minded the name.

When they were home the first thing Levi did was whip out the phone book and see if those guys were in here. Because if so, he was going to be _that_ parent that did home visits and passive aggressive phone calls until that brat apologised.

 

Some time passed and Armin looked at his father with eyes that told a whole story, though Levi couldn’t read the language of Armin’s eyes. “What’s up?” he asked as he gestured him to come into his arms, he crawled into them and Levi closed them in a hug, safely and comfortably on the couch, Armin began speaking his mind.

“I don’t get it.” The kid said.

“That’s rare.” Levi answered dryly.

“I barely noticed it today too…” he sighed.

That alarmed Levi a little. “Think something’s wrong?”

Armin nodded very shyly.

“Want me to go make a doctor’s appointment? Better safe than sorry right?” He suggested and Armin reacted positively.

 

They remained in that cuddly position for a while.

“Do you think your teacher is right?” He asked as he played with Armin’s golden locks.

“About the daycare?”

“About me getting you a mother.”

Armin shrugged. “I dunno, Carla’s nice…”

“Do you want her around you all the time?”

Utter Silence.

“I’ll take that as a no, then.” He chuckled.

“Plus I wouldn’t be able to get Carla to be your mother, she’s with Grisha after all… and I don’t think they’re open for polygamy.”

“Polygony?”

“I’ll explain when you’re older…. Either way, you’re not lonely right?”

Armin shook his head a little. “I’m okay.”

“You really never feeling sad that your real mommy isn’t ever home?”

“Well if she loved me she would’ve been home, right?”

That answer stunned Levi, he’d always kept impartial about her, he’d formed that opinion all on his own… and it was a rash one too.

“You’re way too smart for your age.” And with that he sat up to commence in a tickling war.


	4. Accidents happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhh boy this was written ages ago and I forgot about it. Probably didn't post it because it is so incredibly short and I wanted to hit at least 1.5K before posting.  
> Anyway HURRAY WE AINT DEAD.
> 
> I'm not actually watching S2 yet but from what my tumblr has told me my dead faves got more screentime, so bless them.

The morning came once more and of course the god damn doctor’s office was closed. Their usual GP was such an asshole. The main reason they even went to him was because he was cheap, and because the organization Grisha worked at couldn’t afford to do under-the-table kind of deals… Grisha was a great doctor and all, just really expensive compared to other offices… and their insurance sucked

Though, with their usual GP ‘unavailable’ for the umpteenth time, they turned to Grisha once more. They called his phone, and Grisha picked up, like he would.

“Hey Grisha, we’re not sure if Armin’s come down with anything, but we’re getting kind of worried, could you check up on him today?” He asked calmly.

“Today? I mean, I know I’ve got about 30 minutes for you at 11. But Carla’s got her part time, so she can’t bring him over.”

“Well I do have the time, actually. One of my jobs let go of me.” He sighed and got an apology from the other side of the phone, as if it’s his fault he got fired.  Either way it was decided that Armin would go to school for the morning and spend the afternoon at home, because it was a Friday anyway, and Armin was a straight-A student for everything apart from P.E.

 

Grisha’s offices were so much nicer than their own doc’s then again, this office should be a lot nicer, considering it was in a significantly better part of town. Grisha also wasn’t specialized in kids, but he’d been of better help to them than anyone else ‘till then, so he didn’t really care that there were no chewed on-drooled over building blocks.  

Grisha welcomed them calmly, mild smile on his face and his slowly protruding wrinkles showing with it. The father and his child were guided to his office where he gave them both a cup of tea and asked exactly what was wrong.

Armin felt a little shy about it, even if it was Grisha they were speaking with, so Levi spoke for him instead.

“Armin has been having some troubles recently concerning pee. He wet the bed unexpectedly, yesterday he wet himself at school and he told me he’s been noticing it too late when he needs to go.” He explained promptly.  Grisha nodding.

“And you think this is something because he’s been fine for a while, right?”

“Yeah well, ever since I got him out of diapers he’s been fine.”

“You know it’s normal for accidents to happen?”

“Yeah but he didn’t even notice he had to go pee, during the day. Grisha, it makes me worried.” He sighed and looked at him.

“Let’s see if it resolves itself first, okay? This could very well be nothing.” He said and although Levi wanted to go into further discussion, he remembered he had Armin next to him and he didn’t want to scare him for barking at Grisha.

So they went home with the advice to see how things would progress...

As a precaution Levi grabbed some money from the household fund and bought a couple water-tight bedcovers for Armin. After all If this was something, and he’d allow it to get through to the mattress each time, they wouldn’t have a mattress anymore by next month.

Something they could definitely not afford to have happen.

 

Altough their mattress was spared, Levi’s patience and sanity was slowly depleting each time Armin had an accident. Levi had begun noting down exactly when they happened, how they smelled and looked and if Armin felt anything. He was not taking any bullshit from anyone anymore. Because of his preoccupation he neglected the active hunting for second jobs, and simply went to interviews when he had to outside of his first job. It did mean that he got to see Armin a whole lot more, but it also meant Armin saw Levi’s concern for their household growing.

Their bills came and they felt a lot steeper than before. Of course they were the same dumb old numbers printed on paper, but because of the falling out of one job he didn’t have as much of a wage… Absolutely no luxuries this month, as he didn’t have an anchor for the next, then… He was starting to hope Grisha was right, but he was fearing the worst….

One week since the consult with Grisha and so far Armin had had 3 near-accidents and one that wasn't stopped in time. thankfully all at home, and never at school. 

 

Another week had about the same numbers, but Armin began to visibly look less happy, but whether it was simple concern or whether he was hiding something from him was a mystery to Levi.

 

The following week had Armin going to the bathroom minimally, and there was only a single accident... but Armin seemed to be doing really, really badly. 

 

Then, suddenly in the next week, a barrage of accidents happened. sometimes twice a day.... And despite levi's wanting to address the issue further, Grisha said that he should see out this week. 

 

Of course Levi's life was dedicated to his child, to an extent. but the way that Armin needed him right now was one he had trouble coping with, it took a serious toll on him, with the limited amount of work, incresed housework and jsut general worrying added... Levi's insomnia got worse, and he noticed himself sometimes falling asleep on the couch at home without even noticing. Each time a new horrifying vision waking him up, followed by the now ever so familliar scent of either washing detergent or Armin's pee. The poor boy's skin too, had gotten dry from all the acid in his waste and the hot water needed to wash it off. showering was painful nowadays for the poor boy, and Levi did what he could to alleviate the pain with ointments and creams, but his resources were limited, and he hated being unable to take care of his son in the way he wanted to  
The things Levi wished for was his kid to be okay, a fucking doctor to listen and do something about this issue, and a good night's sleep. He knew he probably wasn't gonna get the latter two, and he'd have to work hard for the first one... but hey, that was what parenthood was about, right? He just wished that right then and there he was able to do more. If what Armin had just had a name rather than 'bedwetting' he could maybe help more.... maybe even cure what he had... It frustrated him to no end...

Another day of near-accidents and Levi had enough…. He was about to pick up the phone to call Grisha for another appointment when he was called out to.

“Dad..?” Armin came out of the bathroom, alarmed.

“What is it?” He asked and saw how pale the boy was.

“We need to go back to Grisha.” He said shakily. Levi picked the boy up and went into the bathroom, seeing stains of red along the boy’s waste. Levi’s heart stopped. He took a deep breath and flushed the toilet. “You’re right.. we need to go back… Are you feeling okay? Not dizzy? No pain?” He asked and looked at his son with utmost concern. Armin shook his head. “It hurt but…. Now I’m just… a little scared.” He bit his lip.

Without any further words Armin and Levi were off to the Jaeger household, it was around dinner time, but this couldn’t wait. Levi rung the doorbell like a maniac and had an expression on his face that could spell murder.

“Yes. Who—Levi? What’s wrong?” Carla asked and Levi came in, brushing past her without greeting her. “I need to talk to Grisha. Right now.” He growled, and Carla simply complied, joining the kids at the dinner table together with Armin, swapping out for Grisha.

“Let’s just wait this out, huh?” The frustration in Levi’s voice so apparent it made it crack.

“My son is pissing out blood thanks to your advice to wait this out.”

The way Levi raised his voice made the fact the others were in the other room quite useless.

“You better fucking fix this, Jaeger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's what I wrote in the word doc initially:
> 
> Note for chapter: I’m so mad at the family trees in AOT haha :”) Oh well, more juicy drama for this fic. I still refuse to see Zeke with blonde hair though, It looks so much better white? Also Grisha must’ve been an OLD parent…. Reminds me of my dad… who turned 64 in october, now I look pretty young but even in numbers he could be my and my sister’s grandpa.


	5. To Make Ends Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fix him" Easier said than done.  
> And more expensive than Levi ever thought it'd be....  
> The job market sucks for this 30-year-old... time to try some alternative measures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know Zeke and Ritsu (loveless) Share a VA? I flipped my shit, I also expected Zeke to have a less calm and mild voice but i guess it contrasts Eren nicely. Season 2 ended great (apart from Mikasa going for that kiss, wtf was that, this isn’t oreimo wwww) 
> 
> Also I’m a mess but what else is new. 
> 
> Why do I just keep updating these things at 2 AM in the morning on impulse without beta reading this shit?  
> I like to believe I'm not a shitfic person, but I believe I'm turning into one.

“You better fucking fix this, Jaeger!” 

That was how he ended one of the last conversations he’d had with Grisha Jaeger before Armin was admitted to hospitals and bills began piling in rapidfire. 

 

That was one year ago. 

 

And Thanks to all the medical papers he had to sign and his one job not liking the way it was going they fired Levi. Leaving the single parent alone, unemployed and with a building debt. 

 

He couldn’t let Armin die off, he needed the doctors… but bills didn’t pay themselves, much less medical bills. And asking Isabel or Farlan for money wasn’t going to happen since he knew how much they struggled with their monthlies too. 

 

So there he was, in the Ackerman family home… his uncle Kenny off somewhere doing god knows what, and his mother sitting in front of him. 

 

“I can tell from your eyes something’s going very wrong.” Kuchel began. 

 

“I… I need to know how… How you kept us afloat.” He answered.

 

A sigh expelled from the older woman’s lips. “You could just ask for money instead…” 

 

“Which you don’t have, mom, I know you don’t. Kenny doesn’t either and even if he did I don’t want to rely on that.” he spoke with agitation, his eyes hardening a little and his tone turning calm again. “Now tell me. Please, mom.”

 

A silence dawned between them. 

 

“If you really want to know… I was a sex worker-- but dear don’t think you should do this too-- it’s no environment to raise a child in.” She spoke and reached for his hand, which he permitted her to touch, but he remained still. 

 

“I don’t see any other choices apart from //serious// illegal offenses, mom. And I’d rather be a whore than a drug mule and expose Armin to that.” He said and Kuchel’s expression darkened a little. 

 

“No other choice then… I suppose.” She hummed softly. 

 

Having a conversation about the art of seduction and the do’s and don’ts of selling sex wasn’t something normal. Nor did levi consider it to be, but it was either a whore or a hobo. And honestly, if someone could enjoy his body for a good wad of cash, why the heck not… Maybe he’d actually get laid and maybe find someone to enjoy it with. 

 

“Now Levi, You can be great with your services, but your rates need to be solid, and you need to see and count the money every time. Your rules need to remain strict and enforced and you do not, I repeat you don’t, fall for a customer…. And always use a condom and even then, get tested.” She spoke firmly. “And dear… Now we’re talking about it.. You shouldn’t discriminate your customers…” She began.

 

“Why would I do that? They’re paying me, I don’t care who they are…” He said and Kuchel flashed a rare smile, which silenced Levi.

 

“I mean…. You may not appeal to a lot of female customers. My genes have quite literally done you short in that respect, or perhaps your father’s… I don’t know-- the point is… Women tend to like tall men, even if you work out and know the do’s and don’ts. They’re picky…. With your physique you may appeal to the male market more instead…. And you should prepare for that.” 

 

Levi was a little dumbfounded. 

Did his mother really just…?

 

His mother.

Just told him he looked like a bottom. 

 

He huffed. “Well… time to educate myself on gay sex then.” He said dryly. 

 

“Condoms and lube. You have the luck of having a prostate.” She said calmly as if to say that she never enjoyed anal that much. 

 

“Mom… I never thought I’d say this past my 18th, but… TMI.” He groaned softly. 

 

“Oh and Levi, Keep this to yourself, please.” She said before reaching into her purse and handing him a couple bills, to which Levi raised his brow in question. 

 

“Condoms, lube and something to train yourself for your male customers, you’ll need it.” She said and Levi huffed. “Let’s hope this family business ends with me.” He said warmly. 

 

“Oh and-- business phone, obviously. Don’t ever use your personal one….. And maybe invest in some fancier clothes? Or break out your teen closet-- that works if it still fits you…” She listed. 

 

“Jeez, mom, seriously. I get it. Adult, 30, not 15 and just back from their first sex ed class. Keep it business and don’t let the customers know too much of you. I get it, I promise.” He said and with that he left with his shopping list. 

  
  
  


Having Armin at the hospital and not at home was lonely… but for days like these it was convenient, he could calmly set up his new little business...  or attempt to anyway. While he was attempting to make an okay looking and sounding business text he called up Farlan “You don’t know and Gigolos do you?” He asked the other quite abruptly. 

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Gigolos, Male escorts, whores, sex workers, you name it.”

 

“Not personally I don’t think? Why exactly?”

 

“Well you know Armin’s in the hospital, and the one job I had decided to trash me, so… I’m saying this is my last resort.”

 

“You know you can--”

 

“I refuse to take money from you, even if you’re asking me to suck your dick tonight.”

 

“Wow… that’s... Levi, there’s a thing called pride, you have too much of it.”

 

“Don’t need to hear that from you, Church. So, don’t know know anything or anyone that could get me in circulation? I know you’re smart and I know you’re lonely and I know you got Isabel three strippers on her 25th.” He said dryly. 

 

“Two and an escort-- she just chose not to do anything with them.”

 

“Well, Get me in contact with them.” he practically ordered and hung up. 

  
  


Within a day he got some guidance and then a semi-formal training on the modern day gigolo. 

Within a week he’d gotten his first customer, thankfully, female. She didn’t even want sex, she changed her mind and wanted to just cuddle and watch some movie he didn’t bother remembering… Honestly, the human contact was great… It had somehow really done him well… 

 

Shame he couldn’t make a living off cuddling with lonely people-- although that could also get very questionable very quickly, people’s personal hygiene was very poor very quickly…. 

 

In the next couple weeks he got himself a client here and there, but that quickly built up to being able to pay his late rent nevertheless… And still he never had to use that thing his mom told him to get. -- the toy, not the condoms, god, he used the condoms alright. God forbid another situation like the string of lawsuits on Armin’s custody happen to him (or a child) Because he could not afford another kid, but his conscience also couldn’t afford it in the endless circulation of foster care.

 

Though it did make him a little curious… 

The still-fairly-cheap sex toy had remained on his bedside table, alone in it’s box… So Levi found himself to be a little surprised when he was actually holding it… 

 

It was… weird to know that this was supposed to feel good when he would supposedly stick it up his ass…. 

First of all-- shower. That was something he’d learned when researching gay sex, and he did not want any shit on his toy, or his sheets. No sir. So bless plastic water bottles and showers.    
  


Bottle in hand, he stepped into the shower. And he put it down. He first showered normally, and then he got to his butt… he experimentally spread his own cheeks, and caressed his own entrance. Kinda pruney, not an appealing feeling… He knew water wasn’t a lube, but even so, he began nudging around. Massaging the muscle around, and feeling it become softer, looser… and then he tried sticking a finger in. 

 

It was a disgusting feeling. He nearly broke out in a feverish feeling as he nudged around and his ass strained and tensed around his finger. It wasn’t a comfortable stretch and he really wanted to just pull out… which he did. 

 

In that moment Levi really didn’t understand the appeal of trying to fit a dick up into your ass and nudge it around while your anus is permanently getting ruined due to the sheer strain put on it. 

 

But, since he had a job to do quite possibly in the near future, he decided to commit… And the finger found itself back inside of him. He forced himself to feel past the disgust and the strain, which was vastly numbing down. And then it just felt weird… so he tried sticking his finger in a little further and god… they said prostate massages could be good, but really, it’d be great if he could just get to it in the first place…. That’s where those toys came in he supposed…. But he was not particularly looking forward to that thing in his ass…. 

 

But rather that thing in his ass first than some guy’s cock, his logic led him to believe, and so after finishing up his shower (And cleaning himself out), he found himself on his bed, on his side, lubing up his fingers. 

 

It began with one, the one he’d felt in the shower, and it was less bad than before, he figured that that was the lube’s doing. Before too long he actually had his finger up to the base, and he began to feel alright with it. Another then, and that put another level of strain on his ass, and he grunted softly. He retracted his first finger a little and matched it up to the second, feeling around in tandem. He subconsciously kept tensing up while his mind focused on relaxing himself, but without trying to shit on himself because that would A- defeat the purpose of cleaning himself out. B- be outright digusting. 

 

Fingering, he found, was truly just a test of patience and of trying to ignore the feeling of strain and cold sweat while his body adjusted to the new sensations. He wondered if his sanity could even stand anal at all. Soon enough he felt adventurous enough to pull out his fingers, to his ass’ gratitude, and lube up the toy he’d gotten. 

 

Here goes nothing, he figured… he lined it up to his ass, which was kind of tired and really just wanted to rest, and he began pushing it in. Making him actually make some noise. It was a foreign object, not his own fingers, so it was a little more unpredictable. He got the hang of it soon enough though, and he focused on the stimulation it was giving his prostate rather than anything else. 

 

After about 30 minutes his arm was seriously tired out and his ass felt raw and kind of hurt, like when he had continuous diarrhea for a day or something.

 

“They weren’t kidding when the internet stated anal was all about mindset, jesus….” He sighed and got up to get himself a cigarette, and then his work phone buzzed. 

 

“Hello, A friend gave me your number. Are you able to talk right now?” 

 

Well, no names or mentions of ‘customer’ so he didn’t feel the need to be utterly wary from the first second… still, he didn’t let his guard down, as he did with his previous customers. 

 

He dialed the number, and the other line picked up, but remained silent. 

 

“You asked if I was available to talk, did you have a question?” He asked, quite politely so. His voice calm and smooth, as he’d practised it be. It wasn’t too deviant from his normal speaking voice just… smoother, more nuance. 

 

“Erm… “  A deep voice. Male, broken in a little. Definitely adult. Possible smoker, could also just have a raspy voice. “Do you accept male customers?” He asked, he sounded a little uncertain, a little nervous perhaps. 

He’d been taught to be wary of questions. “My services do not discriminate..” He said calmly, and then opened up his laptop to access whatsapp to someone who had been particularly curious… now that he was thinking about it one girl did ask if he would have men as customers….    
  
P. (♀) Last seen online 06:23    
  


“You don’t happen to have given my number to someone have you?”    
  


  1. (♀) Online



 

“Oh, oops didn’t I tell you? His name is Erwin, awkward kind of guy, but pretty handsome.” 

“Is he calling right now?” 

 

Levi listened on his end of the phone and figured that Erwin had been quiet this entire time. 

He let his keyboard sit and turned away from the laptop for a minute. “If you’re still there, was that all you’d like to know? I’m free right now, if you want…” Levi spoke, hiding a feeling in his underbelly he could only have described as faint nervosity. 

 

“N-no… that won’t be quite necessary.” he said… awkward indeed. 

 

“Anything else you need? Should I save your phone number, just in case?” Levi asked, the tone of his voice almost toying with the audibly nervous wreck. 

 

“Sure… My name is Erwin….” He spoke, and sounded like he wanted to add something, bt refrained from doing so. 

 

“Alright, Erwin… you’re noted in my little contact book. Don’t hesitate to call again okay?” His tone inviting now, and after receiving confirmation he said his goodbye, with a heavy emphasis on his name and hung up. 

 

He turned back to his laptop, and P. hadn’t made any more answers yet. 

“If you’re reccomending my services to him I’m sure you’re close enough to ask him that yourself~” 

 

Levi hated the squiggly line. He hated it. But, apparently. It was appealing. So he’d subject himself into the use of that symbol from hell. 

He didn’t know what to picture with it either; some preteen’s voice cracking, going from neutral, to high pitch, then dip and then back to neutral?

 

Either way, no more messages from P. were received and so he actually saved Erwin’s number in his contacts. ‘Erwin’. Simple as that. 

 

Finally, time for that cigarette… his ass was still in the process of coping with the fact it had been violated for nearly 45 minutes straight, and with no payoff, Levi could use the nicotine, since he didn’t feel like getting himself hard again to jack himself off.  So, a cigarette and another shower later his phone buzzed again. 

 

Surprise surprise, it was Erwin. 

 

“You don’t happen to not mind inexperienced men, do you?”  Wow, was this guy ugly or something? Was he morbidly obese? Dying? 88-and-finally-admitting-he’s-gay?

 

“I don’t discriminate, promise.”    
Something else dawned on him…. P could’ve given a minor this number, in which case… this behaviour would be more than justified. 

 

“As long as you’re over 18.”    
He would not go down in a child molestation case, no sir. 

 

“No Under xx age?” Erwin typed back.

 

“If you can get it up, go on ahead. Though now you’ve piqued my curiousity…. Who //are// you?” Seriously.

 

“32, White, 6’2”-ish, Blue eyes blonde hair.”

 

“Sounds just fine to me, though seriously, go to a doctor if you have erectile dysfunction.” He cracked a joke. Wow, he hoped that came through right.

 

“You?” 

 

Should he be daring and send a pic? 

Eh, whatever, sure. If this guy was interested he’d meet up and fuck him face-to-face sooner than later. 

 

Good thing he was in only a towel, made him look a lot hotter than he was. 

 

“You tell me.” And with it he sent a picture along. 

 

“23 ish, handsome and trying to get through college?” 

 

Levi snorted. 

“The college thing because of the bags under my eyes or…?” 

 

“Well am I right?”

 

“What if I don’t tell you?” 

 

“Then I’ll just have to try again, and again, and again.” 

“So am I right?” 

 

“Not quite, big guy.”

 

A brief silence…. Erwin seemed to be typing on and off, but never sending anything.

 

“Cat got your tongue there?” 

 

Another bit of silence. More typing, and Erwin was definitely online. 

 

“When are you free? And… your rates, please.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know how hard this chapter is to write for me? I know next to nothing about (illegal) prostitution because in my country, we have districts where it’s completely legal and they’re basically just self employed people. (I checked, my commission work is more illegal than their sex work haha) 
> 
> Anyway, hurrayyyy they met. FINALLY. I had no idea how I wanted them to meet. Honestly I just wanna get to the meat of the fic, which is a bad mindset because this is supposed to be a slow burn, moreso than a rushed porn-with-plot (I love porn with plot, just not //my// porn with plot yannowwhatimsayin’) mmm anyway, why is it I always make my characters graitate towards sex trade… I wonder… (Perhaps I just need to get laid)


	6. First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since Erwin had already seen his face he didn’t figure he’d need a hint as to what he looked like, and he was right. A 6’2” blonde man with icey blue eyes walked up to him with a smile on his face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I just noticed I updated twice in a month? The fuck?   
> It's a slightly shorter chapter today but I dunno? Short and sweet? Simple and Clean? (*electronic music blasts*) Seriously though it's a bit shorter but I hope you can appreciate it.

And thus, Levi would have his first appointment with a male customer set for the day after tomorrow, 4PM… one hour of his time… And they would meet in public. He wondered what might happen… he knew he probably wasn’t gonna be able to take his cock in his ass, if Erwin was to take them to a hotel… he looked up Average length and girth of a 6’2” man…. Was a lot bigger than what he had equipped at home…. Perhaps he should invest in some other things to help him further and better his work-- he could, anyway.

The next deadline to pay off his bills wouldn’t be in a couple weeks anyway.  
Either way it was about time to call it a night, or at least attempt to, and hope that he’d be able to sleep a night’s worth…..

He was riding a horse. Like on many of his dreams. It wasn’t unusual for that to happen, but what he did wonder was what was happening around him. He didn’t recognise the field immediately, in fact… he never recalled a misty and rainy day…. Though… suddenly his attention shifted to running towards what he could only describe as a scene of horror.

Countless bodies, shredded, bloodied, soiled…. His heart stopped at the sheer thought. Giant footprints from the way whence he came. His body moved before he could interpret or even comprehend. 

Suddenly, before met with his goal at the end of the footprints-- he crashed. Over another body. Over someone, and he slid through the mud and dirt, when he stopped, He didn’t know what he was seeing. 

Isabel…. When he looked up with his senses phasing in and out of consciousness he saw whom he didn’t want to see, and stuck in his nightmare, he underwent the pain and trauma of seeing the monstrous beast crunch his friend at the spine. The mere sound too much for Levi to bear. 

What happened after was a blur, all he knew was that he saw one face very clearly before shocking awake, sobbing and nearly hyperventiliating.

Well so much for a good night’s sleep. 

Three cups of tea and a text to the ever so sleepless Farlan later he was starting to feel a little better; he’d stopped crying for one, and his breathing pattern was normal again too….   
On nights like these he hated being alone at home the most…   
Nobody there, nobody to look at, to listen to breathing. To share body warmth… 

Nobody to remind him he should remain rational…

He admitted he was lonely, not being able to see Armin whenever he pleased, and the lack of friends that were able to visit regularly was also a big contributing factor… Life was great when it was happening, just… sucked when that meant you had to live in near complete isolation.

Of course his new ‘job’ gave him new people… but those were superficial relationships, half of it was a lie, and the other half was only a half truth. Something he might have called disgusting if life had been different to him. 

And like his momma told him; Customers were to remain customers. No more. No less.

He walked over to the television and decided to see what was on, and apart from reruns of shows he didn’t watch and somehow a never ending slur of programmes for 3-year-olds there really wasn’t much of anything… He decided that he would leave it on National Geographic, because out of all the things that were on the show where polar bears ate other polar bears to survive seemed like the least boring one, and he didn’t feel like staring at ugly faces. Or any faces, really. 

If it wasn’t such a deadpanned way of presenting cannibalism Levi might’ve thought back on that nightmare, but instead somehow he’d been pulled in by the sheer subject of polar bears surviving over a summer. 

He wasn’t a hundred percent invested into the show and ended up playing around on his phone, and eventually comparing his notebook to his work phone’s calendar and adjusting notes on his appointments, making sure he’d had all his on-paper contacts in his phone too and vice versa should anything happen to his phone. 

While scrolling through his messages he noticed Erwin was online… Not that he’d judge or whatever, but it was just something he noted in the back of his mind…

 

The night passed, And soon enough noon crept up, and after that…. 4pm.

4pm sharp, he stood at their meet up location. Dressed in tight ass-hugging jeans, comfortable and at least medium-high quality looking shoes on, Dark circles covered up with a little bit of makeup, even if Erwin had already seen him with them visible. 

His shirt wasn’t anything special, but he looked ready enough for several occasions, without looking automatically out of place.   
Since Erwin had already seen his face he didn’t figure he’d need a hint as to what he looked like, and he was right. A 6’2” blonde man with icey blue eyes walked up to him with a smile on his face. He was clean shaven and his hair combed perfectly into model; something Levi already hated about him and wanted to mess up.  
He was dressed in a similar style to Levi, something he’d gauged well then. 

“Rivaille?” He called out. It was horribly accentuated the way he said it, overly frenchified, and it pissed him off, but he’d already learned that in this job; Customer was right 99% of the time. So if he was Ree-vaih-le to him, he’d be just that. “One and only, You’re Erwin?” He said in the same slightly more flirtatious voice he’d spoke with on the phone.

“Yes, should we go off to a cafe somewhere before I uh…” He said and semi-awkwardly showed him an envelope in his bag. To which Levi snorted a little. “Sure, the way you’re going about it now you’re making it look like a drug deal.” He said with a smirk and casually hooked his hand onto Erwin’s arm. 

“Lead the way.”

So the cafe they ended up had had some soft, jazz playing in the background, and they were quickly provided with tea and coffee respectively. Levi was handed his envelope, and he quickly looked at it and counted under the table, stuffing it in his own bag before returning his attention to Erwin. “So, what does a man as handsome as you need someone like me for?” he asked with a smirk to talk up conversation. 

“Well, Surprisingly I’m a little too awkward to go to a club, or whatever…” Erwin admitted with a nervous laugh. 

“So that’s why your friend referred you to me.” He said with a flirty gaze, keeping his body language very consciously open. “So why the nervousness? I bet men and women alike would throw themselves at your feet.” He said. 

“Maybe… Never… really tried.” Erwin replied. “I guess I’m just not one to risk ruining expectation.” His tone somehow just really sad, and Levi wondered if his own lack of conversational skills had fucked him over. “But what about you? You never told me anything about you, mr. mysterious.” Erwin smiled and Levi briefly let his gaze break from Erwin, as if to mimick a teasing through process. 

“Two truths one lie.” Levi announced. “I’m closer to 30 than 20.” Truth. “I never enrolled in college.” Truth. “I started doing this after a bet with my sister.” blatant, utter lie. 

Erwin looked at him and tried to read him, Levi could tell, but he wouldn’t let him. “You’re… not closer to 30 than 20.” He said and Levi Smirked. “Wrong.”

“And you’re not gonna tell me which one is true?” Erwin said with an impressed look on his face, seems like mother’s genes were good for something after all. 

“Figure it out for yourself, Wouldn’t want to spoil the fun~.” he said and finally nursed his tea, now that it had cooled down a little more.   
“So what do you have planned for this hour?” he asked and looked at Erwin, it had already begun of course, but he was curious.

“I was thinking we could just talk some, have a little something to eat,I just… wanted an excuse to get out today.” he said, noticing Erwin had warmed up to Levi quite quickly.

“You work from home then?” Levi asked calmly, considering this was supposed to be nothing more but relaxed companionship at the moment. 

“ Something like that.” The blonde replied with a supressed chuckle. 

Levi couldn’t understand what was funny from that, but either way he didn’t care enough to ask. 

This date had earned him a pretty decent meal and a not too bad time with an overly privileged white guy, so he’d count it as a win. When the hour was up he slipped out of his seat and gave Erwin as kiss on the cheek, and hobbled on home while making sure he wasn’t followed at any point in time. 

His work phone buzzed when he did come home, from Erwin, obviously. 

“Thank you for today, I enjoyed myself… think we could do something again soon?” 

Levi kicked off his shoes and climbed into his favourite position on the couch while typing a reply. “Whenever you’d like.” 

Fuck the squiggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I realise I have no idea what late night TV is usually like because anywhere between 11pm and 3am nearly every dutch channel turns into pure ads for phone sex. And no I am not kidding. Government funded channels switch over earlier than commercial ones too, to me that’s hilarious and really sad somehow?
> 
> Oh yeah also I saw someone on Tumblr approached me about the fic and thank you for talking to me! Hope that you can stalk my ass at Abunaicon.


End file.
